


don't shut your eyes till we fade to black

by TheGodWith5Yen



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Brotherly Love, Brothers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship/Love, Gen, Light Angst, Melancholy, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Planet Coruscant (Star Wars), Support
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 11:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30105024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGodWith5Yen/pseuds/TheGodWith5Yen
Summary: “Any reason you’re sulking up here Commander?” Rex said his rank like a joke, and Cody couldn’t help but smile as he reached over to shove at his shoulder. Rex laughed, loud and lively, and Cody grinned even wider, even as he glanced out into the odd sight of Coruscant and wished he could be someone other than himself.“Guess it’s one of those days, you know?” Cody said, hoping he wouldn’t have to expand on what he meant.One of those days.When he realized how unextradionary, replaceable, and insignificant he was.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28





	don't shut your eyes till we fade to black

**Author's Note:**

> for Commander Cody Week Day 5: Rest and Recovery 
> 
> title from "Cheetah Tongue" by The Wombats 
> 
> DONT INTERACT if you ship clonecest

Being on Coruscant was odd. 

It was quiet in a way Cody did not know. 

Kamino had always been accompanied by the crashing waves and pelting rain that no building could keep the sound from penetrating. As a cadet, Cody would find himself lulled to sleep by the familiar sounds, loud and soothing despite the chaotic nature of it all. There had also been the soothing, calm, breathing of his brothers and the occasional whispers and giggles that made the quiet feel so—tranquil, perhaps, was the best word. Familiar. 

Planets during campaigns were usually loud. Blasterfire, explosions, the scratch and shuffle of their plastoid armor, the unmistakable hum of a lightsaber which was accompanied by the witty, charming voice of his general and, occasionally, General Skywalker’s own quips. Even when a campaign was quiet, there was adrenaline and tension palatable in the air that made the silence feel heady and unnerving at once.

The _ Negotiator  _ was full of the hum and hubbub of his brothers, and in some ways it felt similar to how Kamino had felt when Cody had been a cadet. Being on the _ Negotiator  _ was usually calming (unless Skywalker was in the general vicinity of them then Cody knew that they had trouble or, well, they were off for the next campaign which, really, was the same damn thing), with brothers as relaxed as they could be and General Kenobi’s kind, gentle, snarky voice usually the loudest among the hundreds. 

Coruscant was, again, odd. 

Loud, with speeders and music and people awake at all hours. Even when it seemed to be quiet, Cody could still hear the rush of speeders and Star Destroyers overhead. The people were what shocked him the most; so many different faces with no trauma or fear to them, simply living just a millimeter away from the war yet unphased, unaffliated, and unaffected by it all. The people were not created for war. They were like General Kenobi and Skywalker and Commander Tano. They were made by nature, with free will and a future of any kind to their names and unique faces. 

The Coruscant quiet made Cody feel heavy and undeniably, irrationally, unhappy. 

Maybe it was jealousy, twisted and green and ugly, that pushed its horns against his chest and stomach so it made looking into the sky and seeing all its inhabitants feel like a slight against him, personally. Cody hated that feeling, but it persisted in the odd not-so-quiet of the planet. 

“Hey.”

The quiet, familiar voice didn’t startle Cody. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Rex, wearing a fancy woolen cape over his shoulders. He raised his eyebrows at his younger brother, who laughed and shrugged his shoulders as he leaned against the railing of the rooftop next to Cody. Cody reached over and felt at the cape, feeling at the embroidered patterns along it. It was nice, beautiful, something clones normally wouldn’t have. 

No way Rex was leaving the planetside with it. He wouldn’t risk something so nice getting damaged.

“Looks like you had a fun night.” Cody smirked as he turned back towards the neon-lit skyscape. One building’s windows was flashing colors—pink, red, orange, green, blue, purple, again and again and again until it made Cody’s eyes strain and he had to look away. “What happened to you?”

Rex hummed in acknowledgment before answering, “Met some nat-born who decided we would have one night of fun together.” 

Cody snorted, but before he could say that it sounded like a silly scenario from one of General Kenobi’s romance books the boys would steal and read to each other to get laughs, he looked at his brother's face. Pale light illuminated his face, showing a longing on his features as he shut his eyes and raised his chin, something Cody had never seen on Rex. It was all too familiar. Cody swallowed and glanced away. “You’ll see him again.” 

“Nah,” Rex sighed out. “But it doesn’t matter. The mission always comes first.”

“Yeah.” 

“Any reason you’re sulking up here Commander?” Rex said his rank like a joke, and Cody couldn’t help but smile as he reached over to shove at his shoulder. Rex laughed, loud and lively, and Cody grinned even wider, even as he glanced out into the odd sight of Coruscant and wished he could be someone other than himself. 

“Guess it’s one of those days, you know?” Cody said, hoping he wouldn’t have to expand on what he meant. 

_ One of those days _ . 

When he realized how unextradionary, replaceable, and insignificant he was. How people saw him and didn’t see a true person with thoughts and feelings and opinions. Cody was a clone, and it was while on Coruscant that that fact hit him hard in the chest like a stun shot. He was a clone and he couldn’t think of what the future had for him past  _ fight _ and  _ keep the Jedi safe _ . Some brothers would make plans: many had significant others they would comm when nights were calm and shove holos of underneath anyones noses to show off just how beautiful and wonderful they were, many would talk about planets they had been to that they dreamed of living on (“You know, Tatooine doesn’t seem half bad,” one of his brothers had said while everyone else jeered and laughed and shook their heads because Tatooine  _ did  _ seem horrible and if there was one thing Cody agreed with Skywalker on it was that sand really, kriffing sucked).

Cody didn’t have a plan except for the short-term. 

But, Rex understood. Of course he did, he was wearing a cape from some nat-born man he had made up his mind on never seeing again, not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t think he could outlive the kriffing war they were made to fight and die in. Rex sighed out, “Don’t we all.” 

“I hate Coruscant. It’s like a reminder of everything we never had and won’t be.” Cody’s hands tightened around the rail before he slumped his shoulders and shook his head. “I’m being too bitter. I shouldn’t be angry about these people just because somebody decided to make clones to use as soldiers. I love my life.” He loved Rex, his little brother who with each day seemed to need him less and less, but he was happy to watch him grow and evolve and become the wonderful young man before him. Kark, he loved all of his siblings, even the shiny’s he barely said a word to. They were his vode; they were his family in soul and heart. They understood each other in ways no one else ever could. 

Not even General Kenobi, no matter how he attempted to understand. 

He was always so far away Cody wasn’t sure if Kenobi  _ could _ really grasp what everything meant for the clones. For Cody. 

“No, I think you’re right. We deserve more. But, it just isn’t going to happen. Everybody’s too busy fighting out there to fight for us.” Rex sighed through his nose. “You think they’d care about us otherwise. If there was no war?” 

Cody thought about how Ahsoka would jump onto Rex’s shoulders and he would run around with her on his back until they were laughing too hard, how Wolffe would excitedly talk about the kindness and care General Plo showed him and the Wolfpack, how General Skywalker would crack a joke to Rex even as worry etched between his brows, how General Kenobi would clap his hand onto Cody’s shoulder and wipe dirt off his cheek with a smile and say something obnoxious yet charming into the space between them as they stared at one another, brief yet momentous. 

“Someone will always care about us. See us for who we are, even if most nat-borns don’t.” 

“Neither of us are going to die out there Cody. I’ll make sure of it.” 

Cody smiled at his younger brother, and didn’t mention just how naive he thought the sentiment was because kriff did he want it to be true. He wrapped an arm around Rex’s shoulder and they walked towards the door leading back inside of the barracks, settled in their own quiet as they mulled over their conversation. 


End file.
